“Parole Violation Hearings” in Nevada – A Legal Guide

Parole violations (PV) hearings in Nevada are conducted by the State Board of Parole Commissioners to determine whether you have violated the terms of your early release from Nevada State Prison. If you win your PV hearing, you may remain free on parole. If you are found to be in violation of your release conditions, you will either be:

• Remanded to prison to serve out your sentence, or
• Ordered to stay at home in “residential confinement” and under intensive supervision

Similar to a criminal trial, PV hearings permit you to testify on your own behalf and to be represented by an attorney. However, unlike trial juries, the Parole Board does not have to find beyond a reasonable doubt that you violated parole. Instead, there just needs to be “substantial evidence” for the Board to revoke parole.

However, it is still possible to win your PV hearings with such defenses as:

• You were the victim of false accusations;
• The wrong person was arrested; or
• You did nothing in violation of your parole.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss how parole violation hearings work in Nevada. Click on a topic to jump directly to that section.

• 1. What are parole violation (PV) hearings?
• 2. Parole Board
• 3. Bases for PVs
• 4. PV Hearing Procedures
• 5. Fighting Parole Revocation
• Additional Reading

If you are accused of violating probation, see our article on probation violation hearings.

1. What are parole violation (PV) hearings?

A parole violation (PV) hearing is a trial-like proceeding that determines whether you broke the rules of your early prison release.

If you win your PV hearing, you get to remain free on parole. If you lose your PV hearing, you usually have your parole privileges “revoked,” and you are ordered back to prison or residential confinement.

2. Parole Board

PV hearings are conducted by the Nevada State Board of Parole Commissioners, which consists of a chairman and six commissioners.

It is rare for the entire Board to preside over a PV hearing. Instead, a panel consisting of some Board members presides.

A PV hearing panel typically has two Board members or one Board member and a case hearing representative. However, the panel must include at least three Board members when you either:

• Committed a capital offense;
• Is serving a life sentence;
• Has been convicted of a sexual offense involving the use — or threat of use — of force or violence;
• Is a habitual criminal; or
• Has a commuted sentence.

The panel of a PV hearing makes its initial decision by a majority. Then, this decision is subject to final approval by a majority of the Board (at least four members).¹

3. Bases for PVs

Any alleged violation of your release terms can serve as a basis for PV hearings. You have an individual set of regulations you agree to follow in order to be released from prison early. Ten common examples of these requirements include:

1. Abiding by a curfew,
2. Abstaining from alcohol and drugs,
3. Avoiding certain locations and people (such as the victims and their homes and workplaces, if applicable),
4. Participating in an educational and/or vocational program,
5. Attending counseling and/or rehab,
6. Wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet and/or a SCRAM bracelet,
7. Living in a recovery house,
8. Submitting to alcohol and/or drug tests,
9. Checking in regularly with the parole officer, and/or
10. Not committing any Nevada crimes (other than minor traffic offenses).

Nevada law considers parole a privilege that needs to be continually earned. Therefore, being granted parole comes with conditions that are tailored to each person. Whenever you allegedly violate your conditions, you become vulnerable to arrest and having your parole privileges taken away, possibly for forever.

4. PV Hearing Procedures

The Parole Violation and Arrest

PV hearings are triggered by your alleged parole violation.

If the Parole Board gets information indicating that you violated parole, it will issue a written order —  certified by the Chief Parole and Probation Officer — that serves as a warrant for your arrest. Once the Board issues this order, police may seek out and arrest you.

Note that police do not need a warrant to arrest you for allegedly violating parole as long as they have “probable cause” to believe that you violated a term of your parole.

Example: James has been released on parole after serving time for felony DUI. One of his parole conditions is to avoid drinking for the duration of his three-year parole period. One weekend a year later, a police officer in the DUI case goes to a bar. The officer recognizes Jim at the bar, and he is drinking.

This would give the officer probable cause that Jim was violating the terms of his parole, and the officer could arrest him. By witnessing James drinking in the above example, the officer has reasonably trustworthy information that James is defying his court orders. Therefore, the officer could lawfully place James under arrest without getting a warrant first.

Once you get arrested, the arresting officer would then notify the Board and submit a report describing how you are in violation of your release.²

Probable Cause Inquiry

If you are arrested for allegedly violating parole in Nevada, you initially get booked at a county jail or placed on house arrest (“residential confinement”). Law enforcement must then hold an inquiry to confirm that there is indeed probable cause that you violated parole.

A judge doesn’t need to conduct a probable cause hearing or administer the oaths. However, the officer who conducts it must not:

• Be directly involved in the case;
• Have made the parole violation report; and
• Have recommended revocation of the parole.

The inquiry needs to be held at — or reasonably near — the location of your alleged parole violation or arrest. The inquiry must occur within 15 working days of your arrest. (The only exception to these place and time requirements is if you are a fugitive.)

You get advanced notice of when, where, and why your inquiry hearings will occur. As with a criminal trial, you may:

• Be represented by counsel;
• Testify on your own behalf;
• Present relevant documents, letters, or witnesses; and
• Confront adverse witnesses (unless the witness is an informant who could be harmed by the disclosure of their identity).

Suppose the inquiring officer determines there is probable cause that you violated parole. In that case, you can be remanded to prison or ordered to residential confinement in your home (usually under electronic surveillance). Otherwise, you should be released from jail right away.

Police may dispense with holding a probable cause inquiry if you have been convicted of any crime (other than a minor traffic offense) while out on parole. Such a conviction automatically serves as “probable cause,” and you can be returned to state prison or residential confinement right away.³

Parole Violation Hearing

If a probable cause inquiry finds against you, the Parole Board must then hold a PV hearing to determine whether you are in violation of your release conditions.

A PV hearing looks similar to a criminal trial in that both the prosecution and defense attorneys can make arguments, admit evidence, and cross-examine witnesses.⁴ Furthermore, if you cannot afford an attorney, you are assigned a local public defender to advocate for you.

Though unlike criminal trials, the prosecution in PV hearings do not have the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, the prosecution only needs to present “substantial evidence” that you violated parole.⁵

In addition, PV hearings are not decided by a jury of your peers. Instead, a panel of members of the Parole Board listens to the evidence and decides whether or not you violated parole.

PV Hearing Results

When the Parole Board determines you did not violate your parole, you will be released from custody. Then, things will return to how they were prior to the violation allegation.

When the Board determines that you did violate your parole, the Board may “revoke” your parole and remand you back to prison. You would then serve out the remainder of your full prison sentence, and you would not be eligible for parole on the underlying charge again. Furthermore, you will need to forfeit any “good behavior” credits you accrued.

In some cases, the Board may allow you to remain on parole even if you violated it. Still, instead of remanding you to prison, the Board would order you to serve time at home in “residential confinement” under intense supervision.⁶

Time and Place of PV Hearings

PV hearings must occur within 60 days of you being returned to state prison (or residential confinement). However, if the basis of the parole violation was committing another crime, then the Board must hold the hearing within 60 days after that criminal case is resolved.

Currently, the Board holds PV hearings on Tuesdays. PV hearings for female inmates are usually conducted on the third Tuesday of each month.

The Board typically holds PV hearings at one of three correctional facilities:

1. High Desert State Prison,
2. Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center, or
3. Northern Nevada Correctional Center

PV hearings are open to the public, but the public may not offer comments during the hearing. The Board may close certain parts to abide by confidentiality laws.⁷

5. Fighting Parole Revocation

Although PV hearings are different from criminal trials, the defense strategies are often very similar. Common defense strategies include that:

• You were falsely accused,
• You were misidentified, and/or
• Your actions did not rise to the level of a parole violation.

Recall that, unlike criminal trials, PV hearings do not require prosecutors to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, prosecutors need only produce substantial evidence that you violated parole.

False Accusations

Perhaps someone falsely accused you of breaking parole because they are angry at you and want to get you into trouble. However, if the defense attorney can show that the allegations are untrue, parole should not be revoked.

Example: Barbara has just been released from prison. Her ex-husband Tom is upset because now he will have to share custody of their children. Shortly after her release, Tom calls the police and lies that Barbara beat him. He even self-inflicts some knife wounds to back up his story. The police then arrest Barbara both for violating her parole and committing battery domestic violence (BDV).

Fortunately for Barbara, her defense attorney is able to amass evidence in her favor. The attorney finds a witness who overheard Tom tell a friend that he will do anything to keep Barbara in prison. The attorney also finds an expert witness who believes the wounds were self-inflicted. If the defense attorney can show the prosecutor that Tom totally fabricated the charges, the BDV charge will get dismissed, and Barbara will get re-released on parole. Meanwhile, Tom would face charges of filing a false police report.

The deck is always stacked against parolees when facing a PV hearing — after all, parolees were already convicted once. So while you are out on parole, you need to be very careful about preserving any evidence that may help your case should someone lodge false accusations. Common examples include text messages, voicemails, and videos.

Mis-identification

Police occasionally arrest the wrong person. Their jobs require them to interface with dozens of people a day, and occasionally they mix people up or misidentify an innocent parolee as the culprit.

Example: Paul is a parole officer assigned to oversee Max. One night Paul is out and sees someone who looks just like Max out shopping even though Max should be home on curfew. Later Paul goes to Max’s house and has him arrested for violating parole.

Fortunately Max has an alibi that can attest to him being home. And the supermarket surveillance video that Max’s attorney obtains shows that the person Paul thought was Max was someone else entirely. If the defense attorney shows this evidence to the police, they may release Max back on parole without even having to have a PV hearing.

In cases of misidentification, such evidence as surveillance video and eyewitnesses are very important for proving your innocence.

No Parole Violation

Perhaps you were arrested even though you never violated parole. Perhaps the parole officer or police officer may have misconstrued your lawful actions as violating parole, or perhaps they were mistaken about what constitutes a parole violation.

Example: Isabel has been released from prison. One of her conditions of release is staying away from her ex-boyfriend’s residence. One evening her parole officer sees Isabel walking by her ex-boyfriend’s old house. The parole officer then has Isabel arrested.

It turns out that the parole officer had forgotten that the ex-boyfriend had moved and Isabel broke no rules by being her his old residence. Once the parole officer informs the police of the mistake, they should release Isabel back on parole without having to hold a PV hearing.

Sometimes your actions fall in a gray area where it is not obvious whether you broke any rules. When this happens, it is the defense attorney’s job to zealously argue that anything you did fell short of an actual violation.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• The Future of Parole Release – Crime and Justice.
• What Factors Affect Parole – A Review of Empirical Research – Federal Probation.
• Predicting Parole Success – Journal of American Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology.
• The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Parole Decisions – Criminology.
• The “New Parole”: An Analysis of Parole Board Decision Making as a Function of Eligibility – Journal of Crime and Justice.

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Legal References